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The Dawn

Sridhar and Akshara got married like any other couple. Two days after their wedding ceremony, they left for their honeymoon to a hill station. Akshara was angry that Sridhar chose to go to a hill station within the country. She wanted to go to an international honey moon destination like all her friends.

Akshara avoided talking much because of her anger. Sridhar construed it to be her basic demeanor. He thought she normally spoke less. On the second day of their trip, while they were going around in the hill town, they came across a hut which was thronged by many people.

Sridhar asked a passerby, “What is happening in that thatched hut? There are so many people there. Is it a tourist spot? My guide did not tell us about this place.”

The stranger told him, “No, sir. It is not a tourist spot. A swamiji came from the Himalayas. He comes here once in three years. He comes either to bless us all or send a message or meet someone special. If you are newly married, you should take his blessings.”

Sridhar was not inclined to meet him. Akshara said, “Can we please go and get his blessings? We need it badly to save our marriage.”

Sridhar did not understand her words. He had to agree to meet that Swamiji because her second sentence troubled him badly.

Weirdly, as they moved towards the hut, the crowd became silent all of a sudden. They thought that the Swamiji was leaving so the crowd was asked to be silent. People outside told them that they cannot meet Swamiji as he was leaving. They waited for a few minutes. Swamiji did not leave. Neither did he allow anyone inside.

After a few minutes, Swamiji came outside. Everybody thought they should have a glimpse of him before he leaves, so they all moved forward to touch his feet and seek his divine blessings. But, Swamiji kept looking at Sridhar and started walking towards him.

To everybody’s surprise, Swamiji came to Sridhar and said, “Guruji, please come inside. I stopped meeting other people now because I came to know that you are coming. Please come inside with your wife. I need your blessings. I usually come to this hill station every summer. But, my sixth sense told me you will come this winter. So, I came here just to meet you. I’m glad I came in time. Please come inside. Please wait. I’ll rush and make the arrangements for you.”

Sridhar was embarrassed and thought it was some kind of joke. Too many theories started troubling Akshara’s wife.

The Swamiji quickly went back inside to make arrangements for Sridhar and Akshara.

Meanwhile, Akshara asked Sridhar, “Did you plan it? How much did you pay him to act like this?”

Sridhar got agitated and said, “Will you stop it already? I really have no clue as to what is happening here.”

Going by his innocent expression, Akshara thought that he might be saying the truth. But, it all turned out to be too surrealistic for her.

Meanwhile, the other people over there started kneeling down in front of Sridhar and seeking his blessings. Though he always wanted to become famous in life, he hated this kind of fame because he loathed these saints who cheated people.

Sridhar quickly went into the hut with Akshara.

The Swamiji readied his aasanam (holy chair) for Sridhar and he sat on the ground. The Swamiji showed Sridhar the aasanam and gestured him to sit there. But, Sridhar knew the right thing to do. He sat down on the ground and asked Akshara to sit with him.

The Swamiji felt very happy and said, “You taught me one more lesson Guruji. I will remove the aasanam from tomorrow and sit with the people.”

Sridhar avoided sitting on the aasanam because he was frightened he would be asked to get down and get insulted if the Swamiji came to know that he was not a real guru. Sridhar was just being careful and he found the Swamiji’s reaction very ridiculous.

Sridhar said, “Swami. I’m no guru. I’m a normal guy who got married recently. I don’t have that much knowledge or wisdom. Please stop embarrassing me by calling me guru.”

For a moment, Akshara liked the way her husband handled the situation. She thought he would start throwing some tantrums as he has become famous all of a sudden. She wondered if the Swamiji was right and her husband was a great guru.

The Swamiji said, “You inspire me yet and again with your humility. You have always been like this. I don’t know if you remember. You left us all twenty six years ago and told us that you will be born again and will save the world in the next avatar(reincarnation). I feel so happy to see you. I’m so glad I met my God once again. I can happily die now. I’ve been waiting for you. I needn’t tell you. But, you know what is going wrong with this world. I’m pretty sure you have come to save mankind from the negative forces.”

Sridhar was tired of all this story. It seemed as though the Swamiji is trying new tricks to retain the attention of his followers and he is using Sridhar in his game.

Sridhar said, “Listen Swamiji. I need to go. I can’t take this anymore. Your story about my previous birth overwhelms me. I’m newly married and have come to enjoy this place. Please leave us.”

Before the Swamiji could say anything, Akshara interrupted and said, “May be you are mistaken. I have known him from the last six months. He is a normal, sweet guy. He has no special powers, as far as I know. But, one thing is true for sure. He is one of the most genuine and innocent people you can come across these days. He has no attitude or pride for anything. So, please let us go.”

The Swamiji smiled. He went to the back of the hut and brought an empty bowl along with him.

Swamiji said, “Guruji. You can go. But before going, can you do me a small favor?”

Sridhar was hesitant to even talk with this man. But, on Akshara’s insistence, he nodded in the affirmative.

Swamiji continued, “Can you please look at the bowl and say these words – get me some hibiscus?”

Sridhar said as suggested. Suddenly, the bowl got filled with hibiscus flowers. Akshara was speechless. She saw a miracle happen in front of her.

Sridhar realized that this Swamiji did some magic trick like all other saints out there. He said, “How did you do that? I know you must have hidden those flowers somewhere. That’s a nice magic trick.”

Meanwhile, another man walked in and said, “I’m not sure if you know about this region. It is very difficult to get one hibiscus flower in this hill station during the winter. They do not grow on these hills. You cannot transport them during the winters. Because, by the time these flowers reach the hill station from the city, they wilt and wither away.”

Akshara started believing that her husband is a great saint. She started looking at her husband with an expression of anxiety, surprise, and disbelief.

Sridhar looked at her and said, “Will you stop making me a God? I shall prove to you all that it was not me who got it. It was this Swamiji who somehow got them. Let us try something else.”

Sridhar looked at Akshara and understood the right thing to do. He continued, “Why don’t you whisper in my ear something you badly want? Think of something very expensive and something that you cannot get immediately at this place. Please help me. Think of the most impossible thing. Let us see if it can materialize.”

Akshara thought for a moment. She recollected the fact that Sridhar was a gadget freak. She whispered in his ear, “iPhone 7”

Sridhar said, “That’s awesome. I love you.”

Sridhar emptied the bowl. He looked at it and thought it in his mind. He was asked by the Swamiji not to tell it outside. He said to the bowl using his mind, “Get me an iPhone 7,”

And, a new sleek gadget landed in the bowl. It was not yet packed. A new iPhone with a charger and other accessories without the factory packing appeared there right in front of their eyes.

Akshara sighed in disbelief. Sridhar took out the phone. He realized that this must be true because this phone was looking better than his iPhone 6 he bought recently. There was a small document which had all the specifications. It had 21MP camera with a double lens. Sridhar was the happiest man on this earth. He was happy because of the gadget and not because of his powers.

Two people stormed into the room with their cameras. One of them, a young lady introduced herself as a journalist. She requested the Swamiji, Sridhar, and Akshara to come with her to her news van stationed near to the hut.

They all went to the news van. There was a huge dish placed above the van. Sridhar wondered how he missed noticing this van before coming into the hut.

As they walked inside, Sridhar was surprised to see himself on all premiere news channels. The most surprising thing was the announcement made by a representative of Apple company in one of the American news channels. He said, “We completed the design got a few pieces from the factory yesterday. I have no clue how Sridhar Guruji used teleportation to get one piece from here. We are investigating this matter.”

Sridhar remained silent. The swamiji smiled.

Akshara said, “Can we go to our room? I don’t want you to be troubled more than this. I’m sure you need some more time to digest all this. Let’s go away from here.”

She looked at the journalist and said, “Can you please help us stealthily get out of this place? I will assure you that he will talk to you first when he is ready to speak.”

After one hour, they reached the hotel.

Sridhar started his laptop. The battery was draining out. He forgot to get his adapter. So, he tried to use his mind power. He looked at the laptop and said, “Get fully charged now. Double your speed.”

The laptop charge indicator suddenly moved up to show 100%. Sridhar fainted. Akshara sprinkled some water on him.

Sridhar said, “I need to talk to my parents. This is all happening so fast. I don’t know what to do.”

Akshara said, “Can you use your mind power to get us away from this town?”

Sridhar tried it and they reached their home. His mother was supposed to be surprised. But, she said, “So, you came to know about your powers.”